Making a Difference in Life and Death
ALVARADO, TEX. – As the year-end approaches, it is easy to think of year-end giving. Many donate gifts of all sizes at the end of the year for a variety of reasons, sometimes even tax related. Lake Whitney Ranch (LWR) development is the Texas Conference’s focus for this year’s giving, as it will take everyone working together to develop LWR to minister to groups of all sizes, even our legacy givers.
Legacy givers are individuals, like Jo (Killion) Frazier Meyer, who create a will, trust or gift annuity with the Texas Conference and remember organizations or special causes to benefit after death. In Meyer’s case, one of her generous gifts encouraged fundraising efforts for LWR development.
“Jo had a larger-than-life personality,” Lynette Ecord, Texas Conference Planned Giving and Trust Services director, remembered. Raised on the Killion Farm in West Texas, Meyer raised two boys and started her own businesses. “I don’t think she had a timid bone in her body,” Ecord added. “She was generous with what she had and lived a life of great stewardship of her time, talents, testimony and treasure.” At her funeral, “she left instructions for the final song, ‘Happiness is the Lord,’ to be sung by the congregation. It summed up her outlook on life pretty well.”
Tony Correa, Texas Conference Planned Giving and Trust Services trust officer, learned while visiting with church members that legacy givers Denise and Andy Prince were inspired to leave a bequest to the Kerrville Seventh-day Adventist Church because of the church’s deep commitment to community service.
Denise liked to see the church pack food for those in need and greatly appreciated the Christian education the church provided for children. Andy was especially grateful for the members who visited him every Sabbath afternoon to study the Bible together. These visits not only brought him fellowship but also ensured he was receiving the bread of life each week through prayer and God’s Word. “Denise deeply valued the women’s ministry and often mentioned that it was one of the key reasons they decided to leave such a meaningful gift to the church,” Correa said.
Legacy giver Ned Lynn, a Korean War veteran, was a pilot for small agricultural planes. He was also a founding member of the Pharr Seventh-day Adventist Church in Pharr, Tex., Lourdes Baca, long-time Pharr church member, recalled that Lynn had a great love for agriculture and served as a mentor to many doing plant research. In fact, the trees at the Pharr church were planted by him, Correa learned. “He even planted a butterfly garden at our church to teach the children about nature’s beauty,” Baca recalled. His passion also extended to caring for the church building. Lynn and his wife, Arlene, taught Beginner Sabbath School together before her death in 2013. “They created beautiful, creative and engaging Bible lessons that helped children understand and fall in love with Jesus,” Baca added. “The children affectionately called ‘them ‘Papa Ned’ and ‘Momma Arlene.’”
These legacy givers and many like them are leaving lasting legacies for places that have made a difference in their lives or to encourage future generations. In the past two years, more than $500,000 has been distributed according to the legacy giver’s wishes. If you would like to become a legacy giver, visit GratefulLivingTexas.org, call 817.790.2255 ext. 2014 or send an email to trust@txsda.org. Gifts of all sizes make an eternal difference.
Want to make a difference now? You can to join the Lake Whitney Ranch $25 in ’25 campaign, which encourages monthly donations of $25 or more to support the development of Lake Whitney Ranch. For more information about the campaign and development, visit LakeWhitneyRanch.org.
By Tamara Michalenko Terry
Director for Events and
Editorial Services
